The Jesus Lizard were a Chicago-based rock band formed in 1987, characterized by David Wm. Sims' and Mac [=McNeilly=]'s tight rhythm section, Duane Dennison's screechy guitars, and the zany antics of the [[MetalScream appropriately named]] vocalist David Yow. They achieved cult status among the 90's underground rock scene, and at times even flirted with mainstream success, but due to their somewhat challenging and noisy style, they never managed to break through.

Yow and Wm. Sims were previously members of Scratch Acid along with Rey Washam, while Washam and Wm. Sims formed the RockTrio Rapeman alongside Music/SteveAlbini, who also produced every Jesus Lizard album until ''Down''. Wm. Sims also made guest appearances on albums by IndustrialMetal {{Supergroup}} Pigface and Music/{{Sparklehorse}}.

After breaking up in 1999, the band remained popular and respected in the indie rock community, and in 2008 decided to reunite and go on a highly successful tour that ended in 2009. According to the band, this was probably the last time they'd ever play together.----!!Discography:* ''Pure (EP)'' (1989)* ''Head'' (1990)* ''Goat'' (1991)* ''Liar'' (1992)* ''Down'' (1994)* ''Shot'' (1996)* ''Blue'' (1998)

Live albums:* ''Show'' (1994)-----!!Tropes associated with the band:* AlternativeRock* DreadfulMusician: David Yow, though he uses HarshVocals to great effect.* IndecipherableLyrics: Good luck trying to figure out what the hell Yow is trying to say in most songs. Even the lyrics sheets seem to be inaccurate at times.* InsistentTerminology: Yow prefers the term "vocal stylist" as opposed to "singer".* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Note how every album has a one word, four letter title. There's even an official coffee-table book about the band called... ''Book''.* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Mostly in the 6-7 range, with some songs going somewhat higher. The noise and the HarshVocals are what push it as high as it is, arguably.* NewSoundAlbum: ''Shot'', released in 1996, was a significant departure from their classic, Albini-produced albums. [[Music/RageAgainstTheMachine Garth]] "[=GGGarth=]" [[Music/{{L7}} Richardson]]'s production was more mainstream oriented, which caused many fans to feel disappointed.* NoiseRock* PostHardcore* RefugeInAudacity: The lyrics and live shows before the breakup. Many of the stories about the latter are very NSFW.* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Bassist David Wm. Sims sang on the studio version of "Blockbuster" - it's hard to tell without reading the credits, because his voice turns out to be extremely similar to David Yow's. * SurprisinglyGentleSong: "Pastoral", a beautiful ballad about [[spoiler: a rotting corpse.]]* TakeThat: The band have stated that "Rabid Pigs" is one towards Rabid Cat, a former record label of Scratch Acid. Despite the prevailing fan theory, they've denied that "Good Riddance" is one to SteveAlbini. * TheUnintelligible: Yow, both on record and live.* WalkingShirtlessScene: Yow.